Well, Mom and Dad made the big trip out to Japan. We started our trip by getting on a bullet train and heading to Kyoto. Kyoto is know for its temples, having somewhere around 1800 in total. We decided to just see the best 6 or 7.

After spending a few days in Kyoto, we headed to a town called Takayama. It is a nice little mountain town with some historic sights. Here we stayed at a traditional Japanese inn. The whole room was Tatami mats, so you have to sleep on Japanese futons and the dinning chairs are just flat on the ground with no legs.

Our next stop was Hakone. Its in the mountains and is famous for its hot springs. It was a beautiful place. Usually you can get a nice view of Mt. Fuji from here but it was pretty cloudy while we were there. Our hotel was very nice. A mix of tatami mat and regular floor and of course a big flat screen t.v. Our stay here was short but nice. My only complaint was that I couldn't go into the hot springs because I have tattoos!

After about a week of traveling we came back to Tokyo. We had a few days left so I tried to show them my favorites spots in Tokyo. We took a half day bus tour one day. On the tour we visited Asakasa, an older part of Tokyo with lots of shops and some temples. We also saw the Imperial Palace and got to take a short boat ride up the river. We did some shopping and a lot of eating. I took them to some of my favorite restaurants as well as some new ones. I also gave them a brief tour of where I work and my apartment.

All in all, it was a great trip and it was really good to see them. Japan is a really beautiful country to see and I hope more of you will get the chance to see it.

Shark Attack!

Went to an Aquarium on Sunday. It was rather small but it was nice. They had cool walk through tank as well as a dolphin, penguin and sea lion show. It was pretty cool.

Ueno Park

Spent some time at Ueno Park over the weekend. Its a nice little area. There are some museums, temples, and even a zoo there. They don't however have any grass. I was hoping to lay down and fall asleep reading a book but its all pretty much cement. A recurring theme in Tokyo. The scenery was nice though. There is a pond where you can rent paddle boats.

I ended up going to the zoo. However I couldn't help but feel saddened by seeing these unhappy animals in there cages. I used to enjoy going to the zoo, but now I just feel that what we are doing to these animals is wrong. Anyone else feel this way? I couldn't bring myself to take pictures of the pacing tiger, or the depressed looking Silverback Gorilla, but I snapped a few photos at the end. Including some shots of my favorite animal, the Llama!